WOOLEN MILL FAN COMPANY - Key Persons

Jay McGinnis

Job Titles:
  • Owner - in the Gallery
  • Proprietor
When I was young, I loved to explore my grandmother's attic, finding all sorts of unusual and unique objects that had been lost to the world. It is easy to see that, in times gone by, we had a certain craftsmanship and character in our object making that we have now lost. Mass production has "cheapened'' our environment and destroyed these qualities. We must ask ourselves, what are the objects that we possess that will be passed to the generations to follow? Woolen Mill's objective is to recreate an environment that is as timeless as it is mysterious. The only way to achieve this is to be sensitive to the entire fabrication process. Antiquated designs are carved out in a small pattern making shop. An Amish foundry and machine shop give the work the mystique of character. The fans are then hand assembled in our studio to fit your specific design needs. Nowhere is there a hint of mass production - not even in the shipping crates. Jay McGinnis (1999) Jay McGinnis graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1979 with a BFA in sculpture and intaglio. He returned to his grand parents farm in Southern York Co. Penna. In 1997 when Jay could not find ceiling fans that were suitable for renovating his 1874 farmhouse he was able to purchase patterns and drawings that were used in an exhibition from the 1976 Bicentennial exhibition at the Smithsonian institute. These unique patterns replicated fans built by Snediker and Carr, a Philadelphia firm from the 1880's that built belt and pulley fans that were originally driven by water motors. Jay was able to construct a very unique and aesthetic fan system in many rooms all the fans linked by belts and driven with one motor. At that time an architect in Lancaster saw what he had done and encouraged him to market them, from that encouragement the Woolen Mill Fan Company oLLC was launched and became an instant success finding representation on Madison Avenue NYC and Georgetown in Washington DC selling fans to the top architects and designers.